You've put in a full day—and then some. You're exhausted and you know that you need some sleep. You're finally able to get into bed and then…the thoughts start. Nighttime racing thoughts are a common complaint among the sleep-challenged. Thoughts keep coming, one after another, and then they repeat themselves. The content of the thoughts can be just about anything: worries, to-do lists, work stress, emotional reactions, forgotten tasks, or the next day's events. Often, the thoughts start to focus on sleep—the desire for it to come, frustration with it not happening fast enough, and fear of fatigue the next day.

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Fear not: racing thoughts don't have to mean the end of a good night's sleep. Most people just lie in bed, hoping they will pass. But that makes things worse. When you're lying down, your emotional defenses seem to soften. (You know the archetypal psychoanalytic couch? Lying down! Defenses softened!) So all of the frustrating, overwhelming, scary thoughts that you have kept at bay come rushing in, along with the random, mundane thoughts that you don't have time for during the day. And the things you have forgotten to do or need to remember for the next day join the party. Lying there allows the thoughts to circle around your mind, gaining speed, and setting off a stress response that gets your body ready to solve problems with a burst of adrenaline for alertness. And once the adrenaline hits, you'll be up for a while. Sound like you? Here are some simple strategies for preventing racing thoughts and managing them when they arise:

Keep a journal or make lists well before bedtime. Set aside some time at the end of your workday, or in the evening before you transition from "work mode" into your unwinding time. You probably need only five-to-ten minutes. It's often difficult to feel productive without really reflecting on what you've accomplished, so keep a journal of what you've gotten done. Then make lists or notes about the tasks you need to work on the next day. Keep a separate list for tasks or projects that are longer-term or less urgent so you don't overwhelm yourself with unreasonable (and unnecessary) expectations. Doing this well before bedtime gives you time to unwind and clear the day's work from your mind. This is important for everyone, but especially people whose work schedules don't have clear clocking-out times, such as freelancers and full-time moms.

When the thoughts hit, sit up in bed. When you find yourself ruminating in bed, don't just lie there. Your thoughts will be much more frustrating and anxious when your defenses are down. Simply sitting up will restore your rational abilities to think through what's bothering you, and determine whether something needs attention (and whether it can wait until morning). Often, the thoughts that are buzzing reveal themselves to be irrational when challenged in this simple way.

Read. Reading before bed is a great, time-tested way to clear your mind and distract yourself while your body winds down and gets sleepy. And reading will help in the same way when racing thoughts start to agitate you during the night. Whether it's at bedtime or in the middle of the night after a normal nighttime waking, reading will occupy your mind away from the frustrating thoughts. If reading in bed feels frustrating (because you would rather be asleep), get up and read somewhere else. It's important to maintain the bed as a stress-free zone. But if reading in bed is soothing for you, go ahead.

Count backwards from 1000. It doesn't have to be sheep, but your mind will have a much harder time staying with the racing thoughts if you are focused on counting. You can visualize the numbers as you count to improve your focus even more. If you lose your place, start over.

Write down your racing thoughts. Thoughts that clutter your mind at night can seem infinite. Writing them down makes them linear, providing a beginning, middle, and end. The "end' is key. Once you find the end, it's easier to manage the thoughts and keep from ruminating.

Get up and do a quiet activity. Draw, do a crossword puzzle or Sudoku, write letters longhand, knit, or play solitaire—with real cards. Do not look at your cellphone, play on the iPad, or complain about sleeplessness on Facebook. Stay away from anything that will draw you back into the events of your day.

It's important to remember that struggling with sleep from time to time is normal. If you remain calm and trust that your body will get the sleep that it needs, those odd nights of bad sleep will come and go. But if you start putting more pressure on yourself to have a better night or make up for lost sleep, transient issues can turn into chronic ones.